Faced with labor shortages in key industries, British Prime Minister Liz Truss intends to launch a major overhaul of Britain's visa system and increase immigration to fill job vacancies and boost economic growth.
Business leaders welcome the Prime Minister's move, while some members of her cabinet still expressed their displeasure, reports Radio Free Europe, writing from the world's media.
In order to stimulate economic growth, the British Prime Minister could expand the government's list of deficit occupations and thus help companies to fill vacant positions by hiring workers from abroad more easily, writes Bloomberg.
Labor shortages are one of the main concerns expressed by employers across a range of sectors and Tras has faced demands from businesses to ease the visa regime for workers.
During her campaign for Tory leader, Trass promised to tackle labor shortages in agriculture, caused in part by post-Brexit restrictions on freedom of movement and the heightened pandemic.
A recent government report warned that labor shortages are taking a toll on the food and agriculture sectors, often forcing farmers to kill healthy pigs and leave fruit to rot in the fields, according to Bloomberg.
The visa liberalization plan could anger some pro-Brexit voters, given that anti-immigration sentiment was a key driver of the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Tras said she will not apologize for her "relentless focus on economic growth" even if it means pursuing unpopular policies, Bloomberg points out, adding that the government is expected to present a plan for migration reform later this year.
Prime Minister Trass' plans to overhaul the visa system are causing divisions within her cabinet, the Times writes.
According to the government's plans, the list of deficit occupations will be expanded, and the priority could be foreign workers needed for large infrastructure projects, telecommunications and in the nuclear and renewable energy industry.
The government is also preparing to expand the seasonal worker scheme, which, the London paper points out, allows up to 40.000 fruit and vegetable pickers to come to Britain for a maximum of six months each year.
During a cabinet committee meeting last Sunday, Cabinet Minister Nadhim Zahavi said he advocated easing restrictions to improve economic growth, pointing to polls suggesting there was significant support for migration.
The Times source says that this was opposed by Minister of the Interior Suella Braverman and Minister of Economy Jacob Rees-Mogg, and significant reservations were also expressed by Minister of Trade Affairs Kemi Badenoch. The Minister of Economy said that he will support the changes only if it is shown that they significantly increase the GDP.
By introducing changes to the "list of deficit occupations" welcomed by representatives of employers and business groups in Britain, Prime Minister Trass, according to the Financial Times, is ready to defy some of her cabinet colleagues who oppose immigration.
Inclusion on the Home Office list allows migrants from outside the European Union to enter Britain more easily due to lower visa fees and a waiver of the usual obligation on employers to prove that there is no suitable local worker for the role.
The review, the Financial Times added, could also support relaxing English language requirements in some sectors to allow more foreign workers to enter the country.
The review has been welcomed by business groups, which have called for an expansion of the shortage occupations list to address labor shortages in certain industries that have been exacerbated by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Employers' representatives pointed out that the audit will ensure that companies have enough people "they need for development, which benefits everyone".
A survey of 5.700 businesses by the British Chamber of Commerce this summer found that more than 60 percent of companies need to find more staff in the UK, but more than three-quarters are struggling to recruit. In the construction sector, for example, 83 percent of companies reported difficulties in hiring.
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